Dodge City, KS

Micro Area Profile

34,074 residents. Jobs, income, development, climate and physical risk across the Dodge City, KS micropolitan area.

50out of 100
Area Score
Bottom 25% of 834 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 9 sources
OpportunityTop 21% of 835 metro and micro areas measured67
Schools652nd of 695 metro and micro areas measured14
Growth562nd of 834 metro and micro areas measured40
Housing affordabilityTop 1% of 835 metro and micro areas measured94
Climate702nd of 835 metro and micro areas measured56
Physical resilience597th of 835 metro and micro areas measured39
Access821st of 835 metro and micro areas measured0
Economic stabilityTop 37% of 835 metro and micro areas measured63
The quick read

Dodge City ranks in the top 21% of metro and micro areas measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 3.4% and median household income of $70,781.

In the public schools here, 24% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 17.7 students for every teacher.

Residential permitting has slowed: 63 units authorized over the past twelve months, 20% below the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
34,074
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$70,781
Top 39% nationally
Density
31/sq mi
1,098.3 sq mi of land
Median age
32.3
2024 ACS 5-Year
Area type
Micropolitan area
Kansas
Nearest major airport
ICT
134 mi · Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower Ntl
Median home value
$151,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.4%, lower than in 80% of the 835 measured US metro and micro areas.

Employment held steady over the past year, at 17,628 employed residents.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$6,4732024 ACS 5-Year$70,781Top 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,1762024 ACS 5-Year$29,834Bottom 16%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year14.0%Bottom 39%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year14.3 minTop 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year20.7%Bottom 29%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year80.1%75th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentJuly 202617,628Bottom 19%of 835July 2026
Employment change (3 years)July 2026+4.1%Top 10%of 835July 2026
Employment change (year over year)July 20260.0%Top 37%of 835July 2026
Labor forceJuly 202618,24819th percentileof 835July 2026
Labor force participation ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year84.1%Top 7%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Public transit to work ±0.1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.0%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)July 2026−0.2%Top 48%of 835July 2026
Unemployment rateJuly 20263.4%Top 20%of 835July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year2.9%1st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

Unemployment rate

2021/072022/072023/072024/072025/072026/073.61.9
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.4% in July 2026. It has been falling, over a series running from 2020-01 to 2026-07. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.

24% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 22% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 17.7 students for every full-time teacher across 15 public schools, more than in most measured places.

Public schools
15
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
17.7
across all schools here
Math proficiency
24.0%
Bottom 19% in Kansas
Reading proficiency
21.5%
Bottom 6% in Kansas
The 12 largest of 15 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Dodge City High SchoolDodge City2,17817.113%11%
Dodge City Middle SchoolDodge City80816.816%14%
Comanche Middle SchoolDodge City78314.218%19%
Miller ElemDodge City78026.951%38%
Ross Elementary SchoolDodge City50217.933%25%
Central ElemDodge City38119.117%22%
Northwest ElemDodge City38021.140%36%
Soule Elementary SchoolDodge City37517.032%32%
Sunnyside ElemDodge City36522.822%22%
Linn ElementaryDodge City36130.117%17%
Beeson ElementaryDodge City35523.717%17%
Spearville ElemSpearville19613.162%57%

79.5% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Kansas’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $2,300 a year in real estate taxes, about 1.52% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $969, close to the $1,010 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $969 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $38,800 a year, about 55% of the median household income here of $70,781.

The typical renter household here spends 21% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,010 a month.

A median home at $151,100 costs 1.9 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $79,411, close to the historic benchmark for an affordable market.

Rent as a share of income
20.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
1.9×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$969
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,010
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$151,100
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Dodge City’s median household income of $70,781, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year1.9Top 8%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year62.5%15th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±292024 ACS 5-Year12,7439th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$739Top 13%of 818FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,256Top 20%of 818FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$969Top 21%of 818FY2026
Median gross rent ±$632024 ACS 5-Year$1,010Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$13,8242024 ACS 5-Year$151,10015th percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1762024 ACS 5-Year$2,30060th percentileof 9332024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,0892024 ACS 5-Year$79,411Bottom 44%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.18%2024 ACS 5-Year1.52%89th percentileof 9322024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year20.6%Top 1%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±342024 ACS 5-Year291st percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year0.2%2nd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.2%43rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±2442024 ACS 5-Year9473rd percentileof 9352024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures.

Development Momentum

40/ 100
Ranks 562 of 834 published metro profiles
The most recent move in permitting was downward, in a series running from 2024 to 2025.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 34,072 in 2024.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 63 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

At 1.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is below the median for measured US metro and micro areas.

Units permitted
63
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
1.8
Bottom 36% nationally
Year over year
−20%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202434k34k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been holding roughly steady, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

Weather & climate

5 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 94°F and January a low of 20°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 22.0 inches, including 19.1 inches of snow.

10°30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station DODGE CITY, 6.8 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND3.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals22.0"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals19.1"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals20°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals94°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals51991-2020 Normals
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals47°F1991-2020 Normals

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

39 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, hail and drought, with inland flooding alone responsible for 26% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HailHigh
DroughtModerate
Ice stormModerate
TornadoHigh
Cold waveElevated
Heat waveModerate

Low or minimal exposure: winter weather, wildfire, strong wind, lightning, inland flooding, earthquake, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, coastal flooding, avalanche, hurricane.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. This value is the population-weighted mean of all component counties; expected annual loss is their sum. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. City profiles inside this area carry their own figure where their department reported a full year. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Cost of living
Price parities are published for metropolitan areas, and this place lies outside one.
Death-certificate rates
The CDC publishes these rates by county, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it do.
Air quality
The EPA publishes an air-quality index by county, and only where a monitor sits, so a metropolitan area carries none of its own. The county profiles inside it show it where one exists.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. Cost of living is published where the Bureau of Economic Analysis measures it, though not for this place. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

No airport meeting the AreaProfile major-airport definition lies within 100 miles; the nearest is 134 miles away.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year87.0%Bottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle134 miBottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle0Bottom 1%of 835NASR current cycle
No internet access ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year9.9%Bottom 34%of 9352024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Wichita Dwight D Eisenhower NtlICT134 mi10,302 ft
Beech FactoryBEC146 mi8,001 ft
Enid Woodring RgnlWDG147 mi8,613 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

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